News in English about Cuba focusing on Human Rights but including general news relevant to the issues.

Monday, May 15, 2017

LITTLE-NOTICED FIRST U.S. RICE SHIPMENT TO CUBA SINCE 2008

LITTLE-NOTICED FIRST U.S. RICE SHIPMENT TO CUBA SINCE 2008
By Chuck Abbott
5/15/2017

The nonpartisan U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council says the first
shipment of U.S. rice to Cuba in nine years apparently passed unnoticed
in the ongoing debate over trade with the island nation. Based in New
York, the council, which produces monthly reports on commerce involving
the countries, says the comparatively small cargo of 157.8 tonnes of
parboiled rice, some mixed with grain, was worth $252,000 and sailed
from the Houston area.

According to the council, U.S. ag exports to Cuba totaled $232 million
in 2016, up by 36% from $170.6 million in 2015. Frozen chicken meat
accounted for 41% of sales in 2016; soybeans, soy oil, and soy meal were
28%; and corn was 16%. Since 2012, frozen chicken has been the number
one purchase by Havana, although purchases plummeted to $78 million in
2015 during the bird flu epidemic. Sales rebounded to $95 million last year.

The rice shipment occurred at the end of 2016, but it takes a while for
exports to be tallied by the Census Bureau and made public. Far larger
rice sales, with a cumulative value of nearly $191 million, were
recorded from 2002 to 2008.

U.S. farm groups have argued for a change in law to allow private
financing of ag exports to Cuba. The sales were exempted from the
overall U.S. trade embargo in 2000, but payment must be made in cash
upon delivery. Some $5.3 billion in U.S. goods have been sold under the
terms of the 2000 law.

This article was produced in collaboration with the Food & Environment
Reporting Network, an independent, nonprofit news organization producing
investigative reporting on food, agriculture, and environmental health.